Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make the covid-19 vaccine available to (a) children under the age of 12 and (b) children under the age of 12 who have conditions that make them vulnerable to covid-19.

There is currently no COVID-19 vaccine authorised for use in the United Kingdom for those aged under 12 years old. Should the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorise a vaccine for those aged under 12 years old as safe and effective, then the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) would be asked for its clinical and scientific advice on prioritisation and deployment at population level. However, whether to vaccinate an individual is ultimately a decision for clinicians responsible for their care. Vaccination may be prescribed ‘off label’, including for a child, outside of the Chief Medical Officers’ or the JCVI’s advice using clinical judgement and an assessment of the patient’s risk factors.